Sunday, September 6, 2009

Party Planning Information

Most people at some point in their lives throw some sort of party. It was easier when you were younger; your parents went out of town, you’d invite a bunch of friends over, everyone would bring their own drinks. Boom, it’s a party. If you had really nice friends throwing the party, maybe they would supply chips. If not, you’d send out for pizza.

Being a responsible adult makes things a little more complicated when it comes to throwing a party. Now, there is a right and a wrong way of doing things and the level of expectations of your party guests goes up. But, this is not a problem because you can find out all there is to know about throwing a party right here.

The first thing you need to do is to decide what kind of party you are throwing. Is it a holiday party, a graduation party, a birthday party, etc. Is it going to be a surprise party? These are fairly obvious questions and ones you most likely have already decided. A couple more obvious questions are; what is the main age group of the guests that will be attending the party and how many people are you planning to invite. This will determine a great deal of the decisions you need to make for the party.

In determining the age group of the guests will help you decide if you need activities to keep your quests busy. For instance, if you are planning to invite a lot of kids, it is a good idea to supply something that they can do or play with. Determining how many guests you are planning on inviting helps you to determine how many party supplies you will need to supply. What is your budget for the party?

It is fairly obvious that the way to invite people to your party is through invitations. There are several different kinds of invitations. There are cards that you can mail or hand out to predetermined guests. There is also word of mouth. Spread the news about the party you are planning by simply telling those who are invited. You can also email your guests or send out an online invitation. The online invitations are growing in popularity. It is a website call evite. You simply sign up for a free account and you can design and send an invitation to the list of people’s email addresses that you provide. The thing that is so great about this site is that it will keep track of how many people have RSVP’d and who is coming, the amount of people who are coming, who has viewed the invitation but not RSVP’d yet, and who is not coming. Guests can also write a little message when they RSVP.

Where is your party going to be held is another important decision? Is it going to be outside? If so, is there adequate shade for hot days or shelter for bad weather? Is this party going to be thrown at your house or at a venue that you will rent? How much room are you going to need for those that are planning to attend? The plus about having the party at a venue is that you can cut out the cleaning and setting up for the party. When a party is thrown at home, a lot of time and effort will go into preparing your home for the party, serving food and running around while the party is underway. Don’t forget cleaning up after the party is over. While a venue is more expensive, it cuts out a lot of responsibility for the host and allows them to enjoy themselves more.

Figuring out how much food you are going to need is probably the most difficult thing about throwing a party. What kind of food are you going to serve, is this going to be a buffet or a sit down dinner, are you going to make everything yourself or have it catered. These are all important questions. Offering food is a party must! People expect to go to a party to eat. It is the first question other people ask about the party; ‘How was the party? How was the food?’ It is the thing that will determine most of your budget and should have the most thought put into it.

There is so much that goes into a party we have just touched on a few of the basics. There is a lot more to learn to learn before you can call yourself an expert but, with the information above, you can definitely get the ball rolling.